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I have 125 cuft of c25. It doesn't last very long for my use. Depending on how much you'll be welding ij would go with that size or somewhere around double that. How close is the lws? Can you afford 2 bottles so you can just swap when one is empty? What kind of cart will you have? The 125 bottle is about 4' tall and 7" diameter. If yo usually use your machine when the lws is closed then get 2 bottles and keep a big bag of contact tips and an extra big spool of wire. I think that machine can handle 8-inch spools? Do you weld thick or thin? I stick to 035 wire in my miller 251 mig machine. But I'm usually doing thicker stuff. I have used it successfully to weld 20 ga sheet metal though...

Also, I have a Lincoln auto hood that i paid $130 for last year. I lie it. But I would look for something with 4 arc-sensors and a adjustable cutting mode plus shades 9-13 for welding and a grinding mode too. I think the digital elite from miller meet this. If your serious about this the spend some extra money on the hood. Completely worth it. Also, some good gloves are nice. I have some miller gloves and the quality seems to be low. The first pair ripped less than 5 minutes after I first put them on. Welding blankets can be useful to protect stuff near your work area. The magnets that look like arrows are good. Also, straight edges and speed squares. I have a dewalt grinder. I got it on sale. Work pretty decent. Keep a pair of ear plugs around. Grinding, hammering and welding can get loud at times. Soap stones are nice too for marking metal and drawing your blueprints on the concrete floor!

Oh, and just go burn metal as often as you can. Watch the videos on weldingtipsandtricks.com and practice what Jody says.

Oh and if you spend all your money on welding supplies you won't be able to afford and steel to build and practice!

Thanks for the information in the posts. Ya I am trying not to over do it right off the bat, so I do have money for metal to weld on. Its more expensive than i was thinking to get into.

I never welded a bead in my life yet! I am a finish carpenter. So i have squares, tapes, and many hand tools and lots of power tools. I also did light plumbing so I have some but little tools that I will be needing. I already ordered the welder the MM211.

I am thinking of ordering a harris type oxyacetelene<--spelling error) so i can cut say I think it says it will cut an inch with the right nozzle but i really dont now what one to get.

I will get an angle grinder and chop saw and some tanks for welding. I do think i want to at least get the tank that is 4 footish. I dont want to be going all the time to get it filled. I have lowes very close very close. But I still have so much to buy and do want to have money to buy steal, so i can make a welding table, a cart for the welder setup, and a stand for a new bench grinder. I am going to get a 3/4 hp bench grinder.

Then a helmet and stuff. I have a total budget of $3450.00 TOTAL maybe a hair more and in time of course I will be able to get more as I go. I want to get a good air compressor, the one i have is just for finish nailing. But i would like to get one to run tools, and to paint, Thatas another store.

Anyone out there have any information on what compressor I would need to actually paint with, and run tools good?

Thanks for responding Elvis I really appreciate all the info I can get!

I am totally new to welding and have yet to even do a spot weld. But i read a book, watched many videos and am very very eager to learn.

You say you want to build a welding table, welding cart, and a stand for the bench grinder, then maybe a helmit and other stuff. I would reccomend a helmit first, before the other stuff. Trying to weld without one will render you with no need for one as you will be blind before getting it. This can seriously affect your ability to learn how to make good weld beads. With out the welding Hood the welding machine is not much use to you, unless your eyes are immune to U/V light, in which case you can forget about buying the Hood in the first place.

You say you want to build a welding table, welding cart, and a stand for the bench grinder, then maybe a helmit and other stuff. I would reccomend a helmit first, before the other stuff. Trying to weld without one will render you with no need for one as you will be blind before getting it. This can seriously affect your ability to learn how to make good weld beads. With out the welding Hood the welding machine is not much use to you, unless your eyes are immune to U/V light, in which case you can forget about buying the Hood in the first place.

Of course a helmet that is a given. I did ask early in the post of what would be a good one to go with. I see there are so many from pretty cheap up to around 200 bucks. Also gloves will be bought even maybe a welding jacket. I dont want to be blind. So more input on a helmet would be appreciated. I am pretty sure Elvis recommended one. I have a budget of a little over 3000.00 so I will be getting most of the stuff I need to get started. I just want to get input on some of the things that I will need to build the table, cart and stand. But that is what I will be doing 2nd after practicing on some scrap metal.

125 cylinder is all I want to lift anymore. As another poster said, if you start using a lot, get a spare. I like the better DeWalt grinder and Makita chop saw.

I have a butlet gas welding supply very very close I know they will refil tanks while you wait. But I think for most part, I dont want to be renting a tank. I dont know if I will have enough right away to buy a spare tank, but in time surely.

I am not familier at all with a cutting torch, but I saw a harris i think it is that says with the right tip will cut up to 1 inch. This is something I dont know anything about is the torch setup and many other things. But cutting torch info would be really really helpful.

But ya, thats the tools I have the most of for carpentry is dewalt, makita, and Milwaukee.

Also the helmet is another If i went to buy right now, knowing nothing about them, i would probebly just rate them by price. Not sure what helmet to get.

Thanks again for all the input to everyone who has offered advice. I really need it.

A helmet is easy. A miller digital elite. Or speedglas. Buy an auto-darkening that has a couple arc sensors, fast reaction time (at least 1/15000th of a second or faster) and adjustable shade and sensitivity. I spent $130 on mine and that is probably on the cheaper side of helmets. Check out Tillman for ppe. Auto darkening is easy to see right before a weld. It saves tons of time when doing a bunch of tack welds. It is awesome. Low voltage mig (under 20 volts). Keep my shade around 9 or so. I turn it up for stick and heavy mig work. It is pretty sweet.

I think I paid something like $275 recently for a 125 bottle of c25 with a fillup. Now its mine. Also, I don't know much about oxy torches. If you can get a good deal on some it will be worth it. I'm looking at a cheap set for $300 with regs hoses and bottles. I have a plasma for cutting, but a torch is handy for preheating material. Plus, you practice gas welding! That is fun stuff!